Darkened Faith
by Lucinda
Summary: David from Lost Boys discovers a challenge - a fascinating woman called Faith, the Slayer. AU-ish. Series complete.
1. First Contact

Darkened Faith 1: First Contact  
  
author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith #1 First Contact  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis.  
  
He'd barely survived the nightmarish disaster that had befallen his family. Things had gone so horribly wrong... it would have been better, safer, simpler if it had been only Max seeking to bring in the woman named Lucy, or if it had been only Starr seeking to bring in Michael of the mystery filled eyes. But the efforts to get both of them at once had caused disaster and death.  
  
It didn't make any sense to him that the group who had known how to kill them, had known their weaknesses had missed him. He'd been impaled on antelope horns - excruciatingly painful, enough so that he'd passed out, but... not fatal. Wooden stakes, fire, beheading, holy water, sunshine - those were fatal. Not antelope horns, not the claws or teeth or horns of beasts unless they severed the spine or entirely dismembered the body. But they hadn't realized that, had simply dumped his body in the woods along with the scorched remnants of Paul and bits of Max.  
  
But he'd known they would be watching for other vampires. They would be watching the town, maybe hunting. His survival had been a fluke that wouldn't last in Santa Carla. So, he'd reluctantly left, gathering a few things and his bike, heading towards Los Angeles.  
  
There would be all sorts of opportunities there, and the city was so large that his activities would vanish, swallowed up by the actions of the teeming thousands... millions of inhabitants. He could vanish there, rebuild his strength, maybe even build a new family.  
  
And so, for a time, David vanished into the dark underside of Los Angeles, hunting carefully, rebuilding his strength, waiting, watching. Someday, he would seek revenge on those who had killed his family, but first he had to be strong. He would need a new family at his side. But so far, he hadn't had much success finding the right sort of people. Wouldn't do to try to bring in just anyone... no, that had been the downfall before. Learn from the past or you are doomed to repeat it.  
  
Years passed, and David grew strong again. But he had learned well from Santa Carla - do not assume that because you are immortal, that you are also invincable. Do not draw attention that you can't handle. There are always enemies, and someone WILL know how to kill you.  
  
Fall was in the air, the humidity leaving the faintest hint of a night time chill in the air, something that fought with the heat that had been pounded into the asphalt all day. He felt her before he saw her, a feeling of power, of danger. It made all of his instincts rise up, a desire to find the source of this feeling and destroy it battling with the urge to possess the source of the power. When he saw her, he knew that he had to try to have her.  
  
She had dark hair that fell around her shoulders like a shadow, smooth pale skin covering sleek muscles. Every movement was both precise and casual, showing a hunter's precision and confidence. Her lips had been painted a deep maroon, and her dark eyes had been made smoky and mysterious by shimmering powder. Deep purple leather pants hugged long legs, and a tank in lavender swirled with gold exposed a hint of taut stomach, marred by a vicious looking scar. She carried an aura about her, one of danger, and solitude,and near wildness.  
  
This woman would be too dangerous to just swoop down and carry away. Best if he watch her a bit first, determine as much as he could about what made her dangerous and how to approach her. She would be a challenge.  
  
David followed her, spying on her over the next few weeks. She didn't seem to have anyone - no family, no friends, no emotional support. But she did have something to fill her time with, a rather unsettling hobby? Purpose? Addiction? She would go out into the city by night, sauntering along the streets, looking, seeking Not seeking pleasure or profit as so many other women who went out by night, no, this one sought demons, sought vampires. And when she found them, she would attack, fighting, killing them. He learned that she was far stronger than a mortal woman should be, and faster. She called herself Faith, the Slayer.  
  
He knew that he couldn't be assured of taking her by force, of bringing her into the family like that. No, he would have to persuade her, to lure her to the dark side. And it looked like he knew the way to go...  
  
She seemed so confident, but... what if that seeming confidence was only skin deep? What if it was confidence in herself as a warrior, over insecurities of herself as a woman, as a person.  
  
Finally, he had a plan. He would approach her casually, with no hostility, in a place full of people. Somewhere that she wouldn't be able to attack him. Then, he would talk to her, learn a bit more. Maybe even learn the right bait to lure her to him with.   
  
No more than a night later, he was there, making his casual way into a coffee house. There were enough people that she wouldn't be able to attack him, but not so many that she would be able to vanish into the crowd. He got himself a cup of expensive coffee, a dark rich blend that smelled potent, and was almost as bitter as death, before loading it with sugar and a dollop of cream. Cup in hand as a feeble disguise of harmlessness, he made his way over to her, dropping down on the couch beside her with a smile and a greeting. "Hello beautiful."  
  
Every muscle in her body went tense, and she turned slowly, her empty hand's fingers clenching as if wishing for a stake. "Hello."  
  
Her simple word carried a wealth of hidden meanings. It said 'go away' and 'don't bother me.' Her slightly narrowed eyes and twitching fingers carried a near threat - if not for all these people... There was also a note of suspision, one that had entirely mundane, mortal origins, whispering that she'd played that game before, been approached as the 'bad girl' the person to see for sex and distraction. There was also a warning that she didn't do that now, regardless of the past.   
  
For a while, he just sat there, sipping at his coffee, watching her through half closed eyes. He was better at playing casual that she was. A casual observer would think that David was relaxed, but Faith's tension... it was obvious. He would be patient, for the moment. If he waited for her to make the next move... Things would be easier.  
  
His patience paid off. She looked at him, her expression filled with frustration over a hint, a flicker of what he hoped was confusion. "What is your deal? Out to help the helpless? Because I'm not. And I don't care if you are plagued by guilt."  
  
David chuckled, amused by her spunk. "Not worried about how many helpless you have or haven't saved lately, Faith. And I'm not sitting here brooding or guilty. Bad for the digestion. I just wanted to drop over, say hello."  
  
  
  
"How do you know my name?" She looked surprised.  
  
Reaching out, he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, his finger trailing over her pulse for a moment. "I'm David. I've been watching you. I'll be around."  
  
With a parting smile, he rose from the chair, sauntering away. Not everything he'd wanted to do with her, not nearly enough. But... it was a start.  
  
end First Contact. 


	2. Puzzlement

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 2: Puzzlement  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
  
  
Faith glared at the walls of her tiny apartment. Who in the hell did that vamp think he was? He'd almost seemed like he was flirting with her! Didn't he get the message that it was the blonde slayer that liked to screw the vamps instead of killing them? She was more in for the slaying.  
  
She just had to be very careful that she only slew bad guys. She still had nightmares about Finch and the whole mess that had followed. Yeah, it had been great to have someone care, and the apartment that Dick had given her was just wicked cool, but... He'd used it to lure her into darkness, down the path of evil. Could she stagger back out of the darkness if she fell again?  
  
But why was some vampire following her? She'd felt like someone had been following her lately, maybe it was this David the vampire. It might explain a few things, but if that was the case it raised a whole lot more questions. Like what did he want, why was he being so... behaved, and had he really been flirting with her?  
  
Okay, maybe the last wasn't the same seriousness as the others, but it had felt like he was flirting a little bit. Not the blatent 'hey baby' thing, but more a 'look at me, aren't I sexy and mysterious' thing. Even more infuriating, it was working. He did look sexy, and he was mysterious. And he'd said he wasn't into helping the helpless...  
  
She still was convinced that he had to be up to something. But what? She had no idea if it was a take over the city something, an end the world something, or maybe a kill the Slayer something. It made a big deal how he could be dealt with. And it could make a big difference in how much time she had.  
  
Frustrated, she left the apartment, with a stake up her sleeve and an axe in hand. Somewhere in the area would be a demon or vampire that she could kill. And when she found that unfortunate evil, she would slay his ass to oblivion. It might take her mind off the questions that David had raised.  
  
The air felt wrong, like something dangerous was hunting. It made her feel edgy, and she started searching in earnest, finding nothing more than a couple very stupid new minions. They didn't even distract her a little bit. Annoyed, she looked skyward, glaring. "Now would be a good time for a clue."  
  
"Maybe I can help you out with that, beautiful." David's words sounded almost but not quite casual.  
  
Faith looked at him, part of her mind taking note of just how sexy he looked, another part trying to figure out if he was the source of this weird feeling. "What do you know about this? And what's in it for you?" She smiled a little as she asked, not wanting to turn away possible help. She had an ugly suspicion that she'd need the help to deal with whatever evil she was sensing.  
  
He grinned, running one hand over his spiked hair. "So wary… I get the feeling that you don't trust me. How about I put it this way… there's something out there, and I don't know what it is. I saw it, and have no idea what the thing is or how to kill it. I want it killed."  
  
Faith tilted her head, fingering her axe as she considered his words. "What did it look like, and why do you want it dead?"  
  
He gave a short laugh that held no humor. "I'm sure you can feel it too. It's evil. Also about ten feet tall, covered with orange scales, and when I saw it, busily engaged in eating a particularly slow minion. I don't want anything that eats vampires to hang around."  
  
Faith shivered, no longer questioning his motivation very much. Even if there was an ulterior motive lurking, the thing had to go. "If it eats vampires, it'll probably eat anything. Hmmm… did it have any horns? How many fingers were there?"  
  
"One horn on the fore head, didn't check it's eye color, and I think four fingers and a thumb. With wicked talons." David frowned. "Any idea how to kill it?"  
  
"Yeah, it has this really funky name that I can't pronounce, something not quite like Lula thicken. Starts with the basic hack and slash, meaning we have to cut it to pieces. It's got scales, so it has to be hit pretty hard, but I'm a Slayer and you're a vamp, so that shouldn't be a problem. After it's chopped, we need to burn the body." Faith felt almost proud of herself for remembering that.  
  
"Why burn it? Wouldn't the dismemberment be enough?" There was something in his voice, halfway between admiration and concern.  
  
"David, we're talking about a vicious nasty demon, named by some long dead Middle Eastern ancient dead guys. It has to be burned so the parts don't grow back together." She smiled just a little, hoping that he'd take it as a warning not to push his luck.  
  
"That's… just wrong." David looked rather disturbed.   
  
She gave a tiny smile. "You're talking about a demon. That's already several types of wrong. Got a sharp weapon? If not, there's a shop I know where we can pick one up. Then, you can just lead the way to the evil vampire eating monster."  
  
"Lucky me. At least I get to spend what could be my last evening with a lovely woman." He smiled just a bit. "I got a short sword. Let's go the quick way."  
  
With that, he moved, reaching out, grabbing her arm and leaping impossibly upwards with her held against his body before she could react. Amazement warred with fear as she realized what was happening. "We're flying!"  
  
"Yeah… it's a great thing. And there's the Lula demon." David's chuckle vibrated against her.  
  
Faith looked at the thing, noting the blood that covered it's face and talons. "And it looks like it thinks it's in an all you can eat buffet. Right then, time to slay it."  
  
The fight was brutal, and felt like it went on forever. They had to hack the thing until it fell down from blood loss, by which point both of them felt exhausted. Slowly, they chopped it apart, some parts needing severed several times as they tried to grow back together.  
  
"Damn, we need something to burn it with." Faith wiped at a lock of hair, feeling a smear of something stick to her check.  
  
"What do you know… a liquer store." David sounded tired but amused. "I'll be right back."  
  
Faith kept chopping the fingers back off while she waited, and David kicked the door down. He started carrying out bottles of high proof alcohol, throwing them over the body parts. With a wicked smile, he pulled a lighter, and lit a brown paper bag on fire. Dropping it onto the edge of a puddle of blood and alcohol, he leapt back as the flames almost exploded outward, engulfing the remains in flames and fumes and smoke.   
  
"Damn… That was not fun." Faith felt like her bones were lead. Everything hurt and burned with exhaustion.  
  
"Have to agree with you there." David leaned over, brushing his lips over hers. "But any time you need some help killing something, I'd be happy to help you."   
  
She was left staring at the sky, fingers over her lips, trying to make sense of what had just happened. After a few moments, she decided to just go home, take a long shower, and sleep. Maybe it would all make sense then. But probably not.  
  
End Puzzlement. 


	3. Stroke of Luck

Darkened Faith 3: Stroke of Luck  
  
author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith #3 Stroke of Luck  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis.  
  
  
  
That thing... the Lula whatsit demon had been terrifying. It had also been a stroke of luck, although he wasn't entirely certain that it was good luck. It had allowed him a chance to work with Faith, to give a good impression of himself as someone to have working with her, not against her. Not that he thought it would be that simple, as if helping her kill a big, hungry, terrible demon would make her fall into his arms, but... every little bit helped. And that had clearly established him in her mind as someone who cared about more than just finding his next meal.  
  
Of course, it had only convinced him that he definitely wanted her. Not just because she was an attractive woman, but because she was a skilled and powerful fighter, and she knew things, useful things about what lurked. He'd known that demons were real, and that not all were the same, but... she could identify them, and knew how to kill the different types. That alone could be useful. But put them all together... and throw in that confidence... He wanted her. She would be his if he had anything to say about it. But it would take time.  
  
Being a vampire, time was something that he had a lot of. Faith didn't have as much, but maybe that would help him to get her? No, he wouldn't count on time being his ally. Faith didn't seem like the type that would be sitting at home, worrying about time giving her wrinkles and gray hair, creaking joints and stiff muscles. Actually, he wasn't certain that she would get to the point where that would be a problem, being a Slayer seemed pretty dangerous.  
  
He would have to continue behaving in such a way that she saw him as possibly useful, and not a personal threat. He needed to keep from getting caught doing anything that she would object too strenuously over. So, he would have to be more careful about feeding, and possibly a bit more careful in who he chose to eat. Maybe if he took criminals, the rapists, the murderers, and drug dealers of the city? Granted, there would still be more, but… he knew that the justice system didn't always work. Normally, it didn't make that much difference to him what sort of person he killed, but he was trying to get Faith, and it would matter more to her.  
  
And it would be good practice on his stalking and for checking into things. He still wanted to kill those Froggs and the Emerson boys, Sam and Michael. He couldn't count on them still being in Santa Carla, so he needed to be able to track them down.  
  
He saw a van pull into a dark parking lot, and a man got out of the vehicle. He had on a baggy shirt with a pocket full of chocolate and a big hat that would hide his face. What in the world was he doing? The man walked towards an open area where a group of kids were playing, and started trying to talk to them, being all friendly seeming. The whole thing raised a creeping sense of wrongness in him – that man was not as he appeared.  
  
David dropped down from the air, landing on the far side of the van from the area where the kids were playing. Carefully, he opened the side door of the van, looking inside to see what he could learn. A big bag of chocolate sat on the passenger seat, the top open and partially emptied. There was a coil of rope that had the faint scent of old blood and a lingering scent of fear. A shirt had been dropped over something that turned out to be a couple pairs of small handcuffs. He felt himself hissing, now certain just what sort of predator he was dealing with. They'd run into the sick sort of creeps that preyed on kids before… that had actually been how they'd found Laddie. Not that that had been his real name, but he wouldn't ever tell them that name, having been so traumatized by his ordeal.  
  
He heard footsteps, and went airborne again, not wanting to be seen. The man had come back, with a kid following him. The boy looked to be maybe six or seven, with a smile that seemed just a bit too big, too cheerful. Was the boy just one of those appallingly cheerful sorts, or did he have some sort of mental defect? Not that it would probably matter to the child-taker. There was a brief struggle as he handcuffed the boy, tying the extra shirt as a makeshift gag and driving away. David followed, now certain that he would have to kill the guy, and send the boy home, somehow.  
  
Things seemed to work nicely when the van pulled up next to a quiet apartment building. The lights for the parking area seemed to have either burned out or been broken, which would work to the advantage of just about any not quite legal thing. David dropped to the asphalt, certain the man wouldn't see him. He could feel Faith nearby, her Slayerness a hum that he could feel. A couple blocks to the west… good, that might help with getting the boy home safely.  
  
The man opened the door, stepping out of the van, probably intending to drag out the child, whose frightened whimpers could be easily heard. David didn't give him the chance, instead grabbing the man's neck, slamming him into the side of the van hard enough to stun him. He opened the door, lifting the child out and tugging the shirt away from his mouth. Then, he reached down, snapping the chain on the handcuffs.  
  
"Go that way. In a few blocks, you'll find a woman with dark hair, her name's Faith. She can help you get home." He pointed towards the direction that he felt Faith.  
  
"Are you going to make sure the bad man can't… hurt me like he said he would?" Tears filled the boys eyes, and had made tracks down his face.  
  
Trying not to smile too much, David nodded. "I'll make sure he can't hurt you."  
  
Once the boy was safely out of sight, he turned his attentions back to the man in his grasp, eyes pale and inhuman, his fangs ready. "You won't be hurting anyone again. I'll make sure of that."  
  
He loved the taste of fear.  
  
Shortly after that, Faith looked up from the dust of the last vampire that had thought he could take down the Slayer. There was a small, frightened boy with a pair of broken handcuffs on his wrists and tear streaks on his face. "Are… are you Faith?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm Faith. How did you know?" She had a feeling that the kid was just what he appeared to be, but… how did he find her? How did he know her name? Why were there a pair of broken handcuffs on him?  
  
"The blond man told me you were here. He said that you could get me back home safe." The kid looked up at her with big sad eyes, his lip trembling just a little. "There was a bad man who tried to take me away and hurt me."  
  
Faith sucked in a breath, her mind jumping to all sorts of things that 'bad men' could do to kids. "Where's this bad man now?"  
  
"He promised that he wouldn't' be able to hurt me. Then, he broke the chain and told me to find you." The boy looked at her, so lost, so afraid. "Can you help me go home?"  
  
Faith hid her sigh, having a feeling that this might take a while. "Sure, I'll help you get home. But I don't know where you live."  
  
It felt like forever taking the boy home. Faith had just sighed, and put it down to a small miracle that nothing had attacked them on the way, glad that she wouldn't have to explain anything like vampires to the kid. He was collected by a very worried mother, who looked liked she had been working too much and sleeping too little. The warm and sincere thanks for Matt's safe return were almost overwhelming, and she felt sort of good as she left.  
  
She almost didn't want to know what had happened, but she made her way back towards the area that she'd found the boy in. There was a dark parking lot, with a beat up looking van and a pair of police cars and an ambulance, their bright flashing lights adding a surreal note to the place. Faith kept walking, trying not to draw attention to herself. Maybe a block later, she felt a vamp, strong, and right over there. She wasn't at all surprised at who it was. "Hello David."  
  
He was leaning against a light post, the lamp making his pale hair look even paler, almost like a halo. He looked almost pleased about something, and there was a bit of color in his cheeks, and on his lips. "Faith. Nice night, isn't it?"  
  
"I saw the ambulance. Your work?" She frowned a little, not certain that she approved. But if it had been the man who'd tried to take Matt…  
  
David shrugged, a thin smile on his lips. "Hey, a guys got to eat. And there are a few lines… it's not right to hunt kids like that. Now, I've made sure he won't ever do it again."  
  
"You killed him." She felt something inside of her trying to scream, but she wasn't sure what it was saying. Yes, it was bad to kill, that was why vampires needed slain. But she remembered her friend Penny from when she was just a kid, Penny who's step father had been hurting her, who had tried to get help and nobody would do anything… Penny who had killed herself at thirteen, terrified at being pregnant from her step father's idea of games.  
  
"If the police had gotten him, he might not have even gone to jail. If he had, it would have been what, sentenced to thirty, out in three? You really think he would have stopped?" David's voice was low, persuasive.  
  
Faith shivered, hating the fact that David was right. He couldn't be right about his method of dealing with them, because… she didn't want to condone killing people. That would be the first step downwards… "Killing people… that doesn't solve everything, David."  
  
"It solved that problem. I took a look in his van, Faith. This wasn't the first time he'd done this. And he wouldn't have stopped. Now, he is stopped. Can we at least agree on that for tonight?" David looked at her, his eyes the most intense blue. He wasn't trying to work any sort of mind control thingy on her, just… letting her see the emotions in his eyes.  
  
Faith shifted a bit, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah, we can agree that he's stopped. And that he wouldn't have just stopped because of it being wrong. But… that's it. Good night, David."  
  
Faith turned and walked away, her whole body prickling and tense. She wasn't certain if it was from turning her back on a vampire, or from the whole mess with that child-predator. But… it had certainly raised questions.  
  
End Stroke of Luck. 


	4. Crossed A Line Somewhere

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 4: Crossed A Line Somewhere  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Faith had been trying to figure out David for the past couple days. Why was he deliberately seeking her out, making certain that they encountered each other? What was he up to? And that whole thing where he'd saved Matt... It just didn't fit the normal vampire behavior. David didn't fit.  
  
What was even worse, somehow, she'd stopped thinking of him as 'that annoying vampire' and started thinking of him as 'David'. She wasn't categorizing him neatly into 'vampire - bad' in her mind anymore, and that was bound to be trouble. Thinking of him as a person meant that if he needed taken down, it would be harder, and that moment or two of hesitation could be fatal.  
  
David had to be planning something, something devious, and probably violent. And he seemed to want her to have enough of a decent opinion of him that she wouldn't stop him. But what if... this tiny little voice inside whispered the little thought that maybe his plot wasn't something fiendish. Maybe, just maybe... But that was part of the problem in thinking of him as David instead of as a vampire.  
  
Somehow, he'd crossed that line in her mind. He'd gone from simply a vampire, to an individual. Not only that, but he'd been useful, helped her with the Lulu demon and helped save that little boy. Were those the actions of a selfish vampire? Well, maybe the Lula demon was self-centered, but not saving the boy. Or was it? Was the rescue of the boy just part of some ploy to make her think better of him?  
  
Faith threw a pillow against the wall, watching the dust-motes scatter wildly as it hit. She was thinking herself in circles about David. If this kept up, it wouldn't matter what he was up to, she'd be so distracted that she got killed before she'd ever find out.   
  
"This is just freakin' ridiculous. I got to focus on the more important thing - not getting killed." She grabbed her jacket, tucking a couple spare stakes and a pair of daggers, one silver, and the other steel. That should cover all the most common ways to kill things.  
  
Her patrol went, with time dragging out into near tortorus lengths. A pair of Ch'porat demons, seven minions, a ghoul, a partridge and a pear tree later - and that was something that would stick in her memory for a long time, she realized what seemed to be missing. David. She hadn't seen him at all tonight, and hadn't felt him nearby either. It made her feel... odd, sort of like she was missing him.  
  
How had he managed to insinuate himself into things that deeply, that quickly? He wasn't her friend, or her lover. He hadn't been actively trying to kill her. So, why did his absence stand out so much? The only answer that she could come up with was that David was evil. Yeah, that had to be it. Evil.  
  
It couldn't be those intense blue eyes, or the leather, or the pale spiky hair. It couldn't be those muscular arms or tight ass. Or the way he smelled like salt and wind and male. It couldn't be that slow, sexy smile, or the dimple that showed up when he laughed.  
  
Because if it was any of those things, it would mean that he'd crossed another line somewhere. That he'd not only gone from 'vampire' to 'person' but to 'potential lover'. That would be far worse trouble than just David being a person, the sort of feelings that would give her a moment's hesitation before killing him. She wasn't supposed to be lusting after a vamp. No matter how good-looking he was. She wasn't supposed to, it was just...  
  
Hopeless.  
  
Faith wanted to scream in frustration, or cry, or kick her feet. Anything to let the world know just how wrong and unfair and entirely hopeless that the entire idea of her and David could possibly be. Instead, she found a pack of Peskip demons, essentially the demon equivalent of teenage hoodlums, only their adolescence lasted for about a century. She didn't kill them, but the violence not only put the fear of Faith in them, but almost certainly guaranteed their good behavior for a couple weeks, or whenever they would get out of all the casts and bandages, whichever came sooner.  
  
Stupid sexy vampires and their insidious charms anyhow. Could she just go on record objecting to the whole idea? Slayers and Vampires were NOT meant to be.  
  
But what if she wasn't always a Slayer?  
  
The idea stunned her, striking at something inside. Not like heat, or cold, or painful knots, just... As if something had been shaken that she hadn't realized could even move, let alone vibrate. It was an amazing, liberating, terrifying thought. What if she didn't remain a Slayer? Not that it was something that you could really quit... Or was that his plan? Get her interested, and then... Get her? Turn her?  
  
Oh God, this was pretty much a hopeless mess. Bad if he did want her like that, worse if he wanted to turn her. And bad if he was just being friendly and she was reading everything wrong due to her own growing urge to jump his undead bones. There was just no way that she could see a happy ending in this.  
  
But at least it wouldn't be dull. Not with David involved.  
  
end Darkened Faith 4: Crossed a Line Somewhere. 


	5. Desires

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 5:   
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
  
  
David leaned back on the bed, hands behind his head. Faith was gradually coming around. He could tell from the looks in her eyes, the way she would look at him now with puzzlement and confusion instead of distrust and the barely restrained urge to stake. Granted, it didn't put her here with him in this nice bed, but it was definitely progress towards that. Towards having Faith.  
  
She was everything that he'd ever hoped for in a lover - attractive, resourceful, flexible, passionate... The elements of danger and knowledge only added to her appeal. He could tell that she'd had experiences in life, with sex, with violence... had she ever combined them? Nothing wrong with a little pain between consenting adults, after all...  
  
All he had to do was lure her away from her sacred - no, let's call that grand destiny, away from however much sense of ingrained duty and responsibility that she had, away from whatever other motivations she had to slay. Convince her to turn her back on the only thing in her life that held a deeper meaning.  
  
It might take a while.  
  
He would just have to ease the transition a little. Make certain that he'd come to matter first. At least she didn't seem to have a Watcher there, lurking, reinforcing the whole Slayer thing, warning her away from him. No Watcher, no boyfriend or even a girlfriend for that matter, no close friends at all, really. There was no beloved job holding her here. If he became important to her, maybe he could start shifting the balance in her mind, seduce her away from Slaying... Just seducing her at all would be good. But he didn't want to move too fast, it might scare her off, might make her angry. Angry Slayers were violent Slayers.  
  
Maybe he should give her a little present, something to help her think well of him? What to give a Slayer... quite the question. And he just might have an answer. Jumping from the bed, he made his way to a box, pulling forth a pair of throwing knives. They were a silver-steel alloy, with elegant carvings inlaid with pure silver, enhanced with magic to stay sharp, to hold their balance and shape through almost anything. They would be perfect for her.  
  
Carefully, he tucked them into a pocket of his jacket, leaving it draped over a chair. There was still time for a nice shower before he went out to look for Faith. She didn't need to know how much effort went into each 'casual' encounter. And it was always good to be clean and prepared...  
  
Finally prepared, David slipped out into the night, lifting into the air as he set out in search of a quick bite before looking for Faith. She was definitely someone that kept him on his toes, and he didn't want to be distracted by an empty stomach when he not so accidentally bumped into her. Especially since she didn't want to trust him.   
  
After a brief stop to offer his opinion on guys beating up on terrified girls who couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen at the most, David sauntered away. The girl had been petrified, but he'd pretended not to notice her there, cowering and bleeding beside the dumpster, her lips split and one eye nearly swollen shut, her bare arms mottled with the ugly half rainbow of fading bruises. He had other things to worry about. Better things.  
  
"Blondie. Didn't expect you to be here." Faith's voice was... tight, as if she had conflicted emotions warring inside of her.   
  
Smiling as if this were casual, an accidental encounter with a charming girl who didn't contemplate his painful demise, he nodded at her. "Faith. You look good tonight."  
  
"Flatterer." She sounded like she wanted to be annoyed, but her eyes sparkled. "Should I even ask what brings you here?"  
  
"Faith, beautiful, you make it sound like you don't trust me. Couldn't I have just happened to be here?" He teased her gently, knowing that it wasn't coincidence, not really. If he hadn't met her here, it would have been elsewhere.  
  
"Should I trust you?" There was something in her voice, almost entirely hidden. It sounded like a plea for reassurance.  
  
Maybe things wouldn't take quite as long as he'd thought. "In some ways, you can trust me entirely. In others... well, I'd still like you to trust me."  
  
"Well, that was honest sounding. If I asked what your deep, devious plan was, would you tell me?" Faith started walking, almost as if she expected him to walk with her. "What do you really want, David?"  
  
He chuckled, and on a barely understood impulse, he told her. "I want revenge on the people who took my family from me, I want to be able to sleep without feeling them die, to wake up and know that I'm not alone. To have you with me."  
  
"Nobody wants to go through life alone." Her whisper was low, almost impossible to hear, but her fingers slipped into his, gently touching, the tips laced between the tips of his.  
  
David smiled, hoping for the best. Hoping for Faith.  
  
end Darkened Faith 5: Desires. 


	6. Warming You Up

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 6: Warming You Up  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
  
  
Faith sighed as she walked along the street. Tonight felt cold, and she wished that she could zipp her jacket up and be warmer. Or even just stay inside... but no. Evil didn't take the night off just because it was cold out. And she'd learned from the previous winter that the absolute best way to get attacked by something was to zip up your jacket, obstructing the access to weapons. She had gloves on, and sort of a beret style hat, but still... she couldn't feel her toes anymore. "I hate cold."  
  
She sensed something, a prickling warning, and there they were, a pair of vampires. From their lack of strategy and the feel of them, she'd place them as young minions. They were just dropping from the fire escape, snarling as they attacked. Pitiful.  
  
She kicked the first one into one of the alley walls, grabbing for a stake as she blocked the second's punch. Apparently, they felt that teamwork could make up for a lack of talent. Make that teamwork and enthusiasm.  
  
By the time they were both dust that was now inextricably blended into the alley coverings, her hair was a bit less neat, and one had scuffed the back of her jacket, which would have been upsetting if it had been new. As it was, it was just another scuff to go with the dozens already there. She hadn't even had to use enough effort to get warm.  
  
"That was... well, good on your part." A now familiar voice commented from above. "Those two... Didn't they even watch any decent fighting movies before tonight?"  
  
Faith looked up, spotting his pale hair. "David. Yeah, those two were pretty bad. Of course, I shouldn't be complaining about that, but... you know, if I'm going to get attacked, can it at least involve enough effort that I'm warm at the end?"  
  
He chuckled, dropping to the alley near her. "Well... I suppose cold's more of a problem for you. How about I take you back to that coffee place, and I can ply you with hot drinks and flirt shamelessly with you?"  
  
"I shouldn't." She looked at him, standing there with his hands in his pockets, and that little smile on his face. "I really shouldn't... but I can't feel my feet anymore, so it would probably do me good."  
  
He grinned, offering his hand, as if playing the gallant escort. "Come on, hot coffee... or cocoa or tea or whatever they've got. I used to go for spiced cider."  
  
She took his hand, watching her breath form wisps in the air that curled around him, as if in an embrace. "Sounds good. Maybe I can try that cider if they've got any."  
  
As he led her off along the alley, he leaned closer, his cool breath sending chills over her body. "Promise not to bite... unless you want me to."  
  
Faith offered a little smile, sliding her arm through his in able to still be close and at the same time put her poor cold hands into her pockets. Was the shivery feeling from the cold, or from David? And if it was from David, was it because he was a vampire, or because he was a sexy guy? Yeah, going for cider with him was a bad idea for sure... and she was much too cold to say no. "Let's just leave the biting out of it for now. How close is this place, anyhow?"  
  
"Only a couple blocks, Faith." He sounded amused.  
  
It turned out that David's assurance was good. Just two and a half blocks, and they were standing in a line inside the building, the air hazy with cigarette smoke, but warm. Faith could feel her toes and ears prickling in that sort of painful way of bits just warming up. Soon, she would be able to wrap her hands around something warm... "Thanks. I probably wouldn't have noticed this place on my own."   
  
Faith looked around to figure out what sort of menus this place had. Eventually, she found them, deliberately angular bits of slate that had been tied to the wall with coarse looking twist of hemp. The writing on them was in blue, pink and yellow chalk, and at first reminded her of Sumerian or pictographs, until she realized that it was just somebody's idea of being trendy by using letters with extra lines, dots, and a couple curls. Maybe she was just feeling a bit out of it... But didn't they realize that it made things hard to read?  
  
"Any ideas what you'd like to drink?" David's words were soft in her ear.  
  
"Well, I think that one says spiced cider. Either that or they're using the Sumerian for umm... ceremonial invocation? Pretty sure that it's cider." Faith looked at him, something tightening as she looked into those beautiful blue eyes.  
  
His lips twitched as if he was trying not to laugh. "Ceremonial invocation? Sounds good, I'll get us two."  
  
"Hey, that's one of the key phrases in my studies. I know ceremonial invocation, even if it's been chipped and blurred. One of those things you learn to look for." Faith put her hands on her hips, looking at him with a teasing tone and an expression of exaggerated dismay.  
  
David leaned it, his cool lips brushing over hers in a gentle kiss. "I know. But considering where we are, it's probably 'spiced cider', not 'ceremonial invocation'. Did you know..." his hand skimmed up the outside of her jacket sleeve, brushing over her cheek. "Your eyes are gorgeous, Faith."  
  
Faith's mouth opened, and she wanted to say something, anything. But the only thing coming to mind was a sort of stunned and giddy 'really?' that would sound far too... well, too girly. She could feel herself blushing. David was flirting with her, David had kissed her... Part of her wanted to grab him and kiss back until she had to stop and gasp for air, a little corner almost wanted to swat him for having the nerve to do that, and part of her wanted to bolt back out into the cold, away from the turmoil that he raised in her. Instead, she blushed, staring at her toes.  
  
He ordered the ciders, paying the six dollars for them and gently tugging at Faith's arm to pull her from her thoughts enough to move along the dark stone counter to the far end, where they would be given the drinks. Smirking just a little, he looked at her. "I'm pretty sure they didn't cost quite as much when I was young."  
  
There was no way that she could keep herself from laughing at that. She wasn't even certain how long ago David had been young, but just the way it had sounded... "Well, old man, why don't we get the ceremonial cider and go sit down?"  
  
They ended up along one wall, not quite in a corner. They had an excellent view of a support column, which had been almost covered over with papers advertising all sorts of things. Bands, newspapers, a lost dog, a jacket and electric guitar for sale... Faith slid into the booth, her hands wrapped around the mug, spicy scented steam rising towards her. It smelled wonderful. "So... umm..."  
  
David smiled at her, inhaling the steam from his own cup. "Relax, Faith. I'm not… I didn't bring you here for anything dreadful. You just looked half frozen, and I rather like you in one piece."  
  
"So, you're not planning anything that I'd have to object to?" Faith looked at him, not quite ready to take a drink of the cider. Part of her wanted things to work, wanted David's motivation to be nothing more than to spend time with her. But the other night, he'd had a bit of a list. It echoed in her memory: 'I want revenge on the people who took my family from me, I want to be able to sleep without feeling them die, to wake up and know that I'm not alone. To have you with me.'  
  
"Faith… I'd say that I'm hurt, but we both know you weren't being too serious about that." He shook his head, raising the mug towards his lips as if to drink. He paused, and lowered it again. "On second thought, I think I'll let that cool down a bit. I was only planning to have the ceremonial cider, not the clerks at the register."  
  
"They don't look very ceremonial either." She offered, a part of her demanding to know why she was even considering making a joke about someone being vampire food, even if the vampire in question looked like David.  
  
"No ceremony to them at all. Probably not much flavor either…" David's eyes had glanced over to the clerk at the register, and they'd taken on a somewhat colder, more calculating expression. He didn't even look like he'd realized it. "Three things factor into how a person tastes. Their general health, their current emotions, and their experiences. You can tell their health from looking at them, to a degree. And if you can look into their eyes… that clerk's led a pretty dull and petty life."  
  
Something inside of her felt chilled again, a reaction to the reminder that David was a vampire. A predator who looked at humans as his natural prey. "Let's hope the cider's better."  
  
David looked back at her, and one eyebrow raised a bit. The mug raised again, and he took a cautious sip. "Hot. Very hot… I think it tastes good."  
  
Chuckling, Faith looked at him again, noting the way he'd put the mug back down, and seemed to be trying to feel the inside of his mouth with his tongue. "It's so hot that you scalded the inside of your mouth, isn't it?"  
  
"Well… yes." David sort of shrugged, looking almost as if he'd be blushing if alive. "It smells good at least."  
  
Faith sighed, shaking her head as she tried not to laugh. "You need to have a little patience. There's no need to rush back out. We can take our time with the cider."  
  
"Yeah, we can take all the time we need." His soft words almost seemed to have another meaning, a deeper meaning.  
  
Faith decided not to ask, and simply held her mug, waiting for the cider to cool.  
  
End Warming You Up. 


	7. Protecting His Interests

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 7: Protecting His Interests  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
David was still in a fairly good mood, despite the recent cold snap. He'd managed to accidentally on purpose find Faith on patrol twice during the absurdly cold weather, both times convincing her to stop for a cup or two of something hot to drink with him. Hot drinks and idle conversation... For a mortal, it wouldn't have seemed like much. But considering the truth., it was good progress. It wasn't that they'd smiled at each other, it was that when he'd asked her to stop with him for something hot to drink, she hadn't glared at him suspiciously, hadn't looked as if she was contemplating staking him. It wasn't that they'd talked about deep, inner secrets, but that she'd talked to him and seemed comfortable, content. Granted that part of that could have been for the warmth of the building, but at least part of it had to be Faith getting used to his company.  
  
Things were moving nicely. Faith didn't automatically look at him in suspicion. She didn't ask him if he'd killed anyone lately. She hadn't tried to hit him when he'd given her a little kiss either. Maybe she did look a bit startled, and not entirely happy, but she wasn't entirely against the idea. He was wearing her down, chipping away at her resistance and distrust. Soon, he would be able to have her with him, to have her for his very own.  
  
Faith should be patrolling in this area about now. He lifted himself into the air, wanting to watch for a while without her seeing him. Faith sauntered along the street, with the sort of hunched shoulders that said she was feeling cold, and the light steps that said she was out hunting.  
  
A man in a long coat and a green scarf appeared to be following her.  
  
David felt a low growl in his chest, and his teeth itched at the very thought of someone else stalking his Faith. Just to be sure, he watched, keeping more of his attention on the man in the coat than Faith. Could he just be some guy who happened to be heading the same direction?  
  
After six blocks and two turns, any possibility of coincidence was crushed. A couple blocks could have been chance, but not that much, not into an increasingly unwelcoming area of the city. But who was the man, and what did he want? Silently, David dropped down behind the man, reaching out to grab him, one hand carefully over his mouth. He leapt upwards, dragging the man into the sky, where Faith wouldn't be able to see what was going on.  
  
They were much to height in the air for anyone to hear if he screamed when he took his hand off the man's mouth. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"   
  
"Jacob Daniels." There was a very faint tremor in the man's voice, and the hand that had moments before been trying to pry David's hand off were now clinging to them. "I was... I'm a detective."  
  
"Who do you work for?" He could think of quite a few possibilities, and none of them sounded very encouraging. The simple fact that while the man was afraid, he wasn't utterly panicked narrowed that a bit.  
  
"A private organization. You probably wouldn't have heard of it." Jacob stopped, apparently intending not to say any more. When David squeezed a little, and tilted the angle forward a bit, giving him an excellent view of the ground, there was a small noise, and he continued. "They call themselves the Council of Watchers."  
  
This time, the growl was loud enough for Jacob to hear. "I've heard of them. Just so you understand, this isn't personal. Not against you, anyhow, but Faith's mine."  
  
The protesting noise dissolved into a pained gasp as David sank his fangs into the man's neck, dropping the long green scarf to fall fluttering to the ground. Jacob Daniels wouldn't need it anymore, or anything else.  
  
After taking a bit of time to drop the body, he went back to search for Faith. To his dismay and concern, she was fighting a trio of some sort of large blue-black demons, with scales over their bodies, clad only in blue jeans. He dropped into the fight with a roar, not wanting Faith to be killed by these things. Soon, his focus had narrowed to punches, kicks and blocks. An opportunity opened, and he twisted the head of one of them, smiling as the vertebra snapped and the demon fell to the ground twitching.  
  
"Nice timing." Faith sounded a little out of breath, and clouds seemed to wreath her with every loud breath. "Lucky for me that you happened to be in the area."  
  
"I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, Faith." He grinned, admiring the way the fight had left her cheeks all pink and flushed. "I'm still trying to convince you to be my girl."  
  
"So, this was all about keeping me here to flirt with?" She was smirking at him, wiping her knife clean with a scrap of cloth. "Isn't that a bit much to go through just to see a pretty face?"  
  
"You're a lot more than just a pretty face, Faith." He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, allowing his fingers to trail over her pulse. "I want you to be safe. Hell, maybe I should just say that I want you, and leave it at that?"  
  
"Blunt of you." She frowned, rubbing at a spot on the blade of her knife before tucking it away under her coat. "Feel like having some coffee? There's this... Well, actually, there's nothing good right around here, but there's a Starbucks about twelve blocks that way."  
  
This was going better than he'd hoped. Not only had she accepted his invitations for coffee earlier in the week, but now she was asking him to go with her. Slowly, his smile spread over his face, and he moved closer, reaching out to lace his fingers through hers. "Sounds great."  
  
End Darkened Faith 7: Protecting His Interests. 


	8. It's A What?

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 8: It's a What?  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
  
  
Faith shivered as she walked along the street, headed towards the warehouses. There had been some really messy bodies found there over the past week, and it sounded like the work of some sort of demon. She'd been trying to find and kill whatever was responsible for five days now, without much luck. Oh, she'd killed plenty of vampire minions, tangled with a Fyarl demon, gotten rid of a family of flesh eating ghouls, and almost a dozen nasty little things that looked and acted like rats with scales. And it was still miserably cold.  
  
She could feel a prickling, as if spiders were crawling over something, but it wasn't from her skin. There was a vampire nearby. Glancing around, she spotted the pale hair and familiar leather jacket. "David. What brings you out here?"  
  
"I was looking for you." He shrugged as he walked closer. "So, why do you have a nasty looking axe? Most people settle for pepper spray."  
  
"Yeah, well there's something eating people near the warehouses. It's taking really big chunks out of the bodies, and I didn't think that pepper spray would quite do the trick." Faith smiled at him.  
  
David tilted his head slightly, and asked "When you say big chunks, just how big do you mean? Is this something like a ghoul?"  
  
"Nah, ghouls are pretty close to human size, and the jaws aren't different enough for this. Whatever it is, it's got a bite radius of around nine inches." Faith shivered again, and kept walking. "I already got rid of the ghouls over there anyhow."  
  
"Nine inches? There are things that are supposed to be nine inches, but a bite radius isn't one of them." David sounded startled, but it apparently wasn't quite enough to make him stop flirting.  
  
Looking at him, Faith winked. "Well, it's a little too cold to be checking other things for nine inches. How about we just try to find this nasty demon instead?"  
  
"Oh, so you want to know how big mine is?" David looked smug as he moved closer. "We could always go back to your place after the fight and you could find out..."  
  
"Flirt." She managed not to giggle, although the suggestion did have some appeal. "How about we try to find this thing and kill it? The whole part where you try to lure me off and have your way with me can wait."  
  
"Would it work?" David purred.  
  
Faith sucked in a breath of air, feeling the cold sting all the way into her lungs. Her mind was filled with vivid imaginings of all the ways that could turn out, some with rather ugly ends. "Let's just wait and see later."  
  
"That actually sounds promising, Faith." David was definitely flirting. "Someone might get the idea that you find me attractive if you keep it up."  
  
"We both know that you look damn sexy. That's never been the problem." Faith stopped, certain that she'd heard something that wasn't quite right. "Shhh."  
  
There was a faint sound again, something that sounded almost wet and floppy. There was a funny smell, like swamp slime, and a rumbly noise that wasn't quite like an alligator. Faith had the sinking feeling that they'd found the demon.   
  
"Let me guess, we want to go closer and find out what it is?" David's whisper was right in her ear, and made Faith shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the air temperature.  
  
"Got it in one, fang." Faith tried to feel confident, her hand gripping the axe as she moved towards the sound.  
  
Faith edged around the alley corner, her eyes scanning for anything that could be the demon. The probably slime covered man eating demon. There was a shadow moving, and Faith focused on it, her senses screaming that there was something dangerous. The slime smell was stronger, and she found herself remembering her trip through Georgia and the marshes.  
  
There was that rumbly roar again, and the shadow moved, resembling a taller sort of alligator. The shadow lurched towards them, showing a tongue flicking in the air. Faith swallowed as she remembered that a lot of amphibians and reptiles could taste scents with their tongues, meaning that the thing probably knew they were there.  
  
Lurching into view was what could best be described as a giant newt, covered with slime and glaring at them with reddish eyes. It waddled closer before suddenly lunging, jaws snapping shut just below her feet as David grabbed her and went straight up.  
  
Faith grabbed his arm, pressing closer to him as she stared at the newt monster. "It's a newt... there's a gigantic newt. That sounds so much like a bad movie... And thanks for the lift up."  
  
"So, how are we supposed to kill a giant man eating newt?" David's voice was a nice rumble behind her.  
  
"It's a B-movie monster, where are the big guns? Or a bomb, you have to have explosions in the bad movies." Faith shook her head, still trying to figure out just how they'd ended up with a giant newt at all. "I wonder if we should check into local science labs..."  
  
"I can get us a couple guns." David purred, his nose brushing at her ear. "So, do we have a plan?"  
  
For a moment, Faith's mind was so caught up in the fact that there was a vampire with his mouth right by her neck that she couldn't answer him. "Guns... right. We get some guns, we shoot the newt, and then... hot cider."  
  
David's chuckle convinced Faith that he knew exactly what he'd done to her, how distracted she was. "Let's go get some guns then. We have a newt to kill."  
  
It actually didn't take much more than that. He landed outside a little building, and they made their way to a small door at the back. A few murmured words combined with a flash of money at one point and fangs at another resulted in some of the money staying and the pair of them walking away with some nice looking guns. Probably very illegal guns, not that Faith was that worried.  
  
"I'm a bit surprised that it was just that easy. These aren't your basic handguns, theses are... They almost look military." Faith's murmur was half uneasy and half appreciative as she ran hand over the smooth metal.  
  
David snickered a little. "I know people who don't like people. There's always been profit from killing, and it's wise to keep an eye on who the key figures are. When they move, things happen."  
  
"As long as one of the things happening is one overgrown newt getting killed, I'm not going to worry right now." Faith sighed, wondering if she could find a safe balance. Being a lone Slayer was very dangerous, she didn't have enough research materials or weaponry. If she could make a few connections to fix even part of that... Well, it might depend on the price, but it was definitely worth thinking about. After the newt.  
  
David muttered something about chasing danger as they took once more to the air. He whispered into her ear "Are you sure we need to chase that thing down?"  
  
"Positive." Faith murmured back, feeling her body fit so comfortably against David's. She was absolutely certain that he could distract her from the giant newt if given a chance. But she had a duty, a destiny. She couldn't let that go again, it would be a failing of herself and her second chance.  
  
"It's right down there." David's words came as they landed on a fire escape.  
  
  
  
The giant newt was on the alley floor, and as they landed it snapped at a movement. One of those large scaled rats vanished into the jaws with a crunching noise. Slime glistened in the faint light, and the eyes looked like huge embers.  
  
Watching the huge newt swallow the morsel, Faith shuddered. "It has to die."  
  
"Right, let do it then." David grinned as he leapt into the air, hovering in the front of the alley, a good twenty feet in the air. It was a position that should enable them to catch it in the crossfire.  
  
They both fired on the newt monster, sending streams of bullets into the slime-covered body. It jerked, looking around to find the source of the attack, and roared ferociously. The bright red eyes found Faith, and it began to charge, waddling at an astonishing speed towards her. Faith couldn't possibly miss, and sent bullets into those big eyes, down the gaping mouth. It still came towards her, and upwards, the weight making the metal of the fire escape groan and squeal in protest.  
  
It was moving very slowly now, blood oozing from what looked like at least dozens if not hundreds of bullet holes, but it still bit at her arm. She couldn't quite pull away entirely, and it's teeth raked down the side of her arm. She brought the gun down on it's skull like a club, beating at it until the head began to have dents and then something was pulling it away. The now dead newt fell to the alley with a squishy thud, and it was only then that Faith realized that David had grabbed its tail and tried to pull it away.  
  
"It's dead. Hooray." Faith was dimly aware that her words sounded flat, but her head was spinning and she felt so cold. "Maybe I should take a rain check for that cider…"  
  
Faith blinked, feeling as if the air was suddenly too thick, and almost warm around her. She'd been injured often enough to know that was a very bad sign. She had just enough time to hope that she might actually be able to trust David a little bit before everything went black.  
  
End Darkened Faith 8: It's a What? 


	9. What Did You Do?

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 9: What Did You Do?  
  
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
David hadn't quite known what to do when the giant newt had gone after Faith. He'd ended up grabbing the thing's tail, belatedly remembering something about some lizards loosing theirs if a predator grabbed them. But surely this wouldn't be one of them, right? He could only hope as he tried to hold it back.  
  
He knew that he hadn't quite succeeded when the scent of Faith' s blood filled the air, almost drowning out the stench of the newt-thing. But it wasn't enough to stop his girl, and he watched as she began slamming her gun into the monster's skull. Gradually, the thing stopped moving, and collapsed to the ground, landing in a pool of blood and trash with a meaty splat.   
  
But the scent of her blood was still thick, too thick. He could hear something liquid dribbling downwards, splashing on the metal of the fire escape and then down below on the monster's corpse. Dread seized him as he looked at Faith, seeing her face oddly pale as she swayed, her arm open to the bone.  
  
"It's dead. Hooray." Faith's voice sounded weak, and a bit higher pitched than normal, and she kept blinking, as if trying to make her eyes focus. "Maybe I should take a rain check for that cider…"  
  
He was already moving towards her, worried by that paleness and the swaying when she just crumpled. David barely managed to catch her in time to prevent her head from slamming into the rusted fire escape. Her arm was bleeding, too much for it to just stop, and he wasn't certain if a hospital would be able to help her.  
  
"Damn it, this wasn't how I wanted this to happen." He was trying to slow the bleeding, putting pressure on her arm, but it wasn't working fast enough. He reached up, sliding his finger into her mouth, opening her jaws. Letting his nails grow sharp, he made a slice at the base of his thumb, and let some of his blood fall into her mouth.  
  
Hopefully, it would be enough to make her into a half vampire. Hopefully, that would help her to heal, keep her from dying because of this newt. Hopefully she wouldn't hate him and try to kill him for this.  
  
Cradling her close, he flew to his little apartment, carrying her inside and placing her on his bed. The bleeding had finally stopped, but her heartbeat was weak. This wasn't how he'd hoped to have her in his bed. He'd imagined less clothing and more passion, not him sitting vigil as she lay injured and unconscious.  
  
Slowly, he licked the blood from his hands, and found a towel to clean up her arm. Tempting as the idea of licking that blood away might be, he didn't know how long she'd be asleep. A Slayer waking up with a vampire licking blood from her wounded body could get very ugly very quickly. After the blood was cleaned away, he wrapped the injury, laying several gauze pads over the wound and wrapping them securely.  
  
David didn't know how long he sat there, listening to the slow sounds of her breathing and the soft beating of her heart. He was carefully watching as her chest rose and fell with each breath, as her throat fluttered with every beat of her pulse. She seemed smaller like this, still and helpless... It wasn't right. It was unsettling and disturbing to see her like that, and it made him want to pull her close and protect her.  
  
Gradually, her breathing became a bit deeper, a bit more steady - more the pattern of sleep than the pattern of someone deeply wounded. Her pulse was stronger as well. Everything looked as if she would be asleep for several hours. Smiling at her, he pulled a blanket over her, tucking it under her body just a bit, his hand lingering slightly over her hip. "Rest well, my Faith."  
  
She was healing far more rapidly than a normal human. But was it because he'd made her into a half vampire, or because she was a Slayer? Perhaps it would be best to get some blood for her, just in case. And considering that he doubted she'd be wanting to kill and become a full vampire, it would probably have to be in those stupid little bags from the hospitals. Those never tasted quite right, although it would be 'safe' for her to drink. He'd rather give her some of his blood, but that could be risky. If she took too much, he'd become weak.  
  
There really wasn't too much trouble slipping into the local clinic, or finding the room where they kept the blood units. He took a half dozen, from the large stockpile of A positive blood. Wouldn't want to cause too noticeable a shortage, after all. Then, moved by this annoying sense of responsibility and awareness of consequences that had been gaining volume since he'd started stalking Faith, he left a couple hundred dollars in their place. This whole consequences thing could be so annoying... But he was almost certain that Faith was worth it.  
  
Returning to his apartment, he tucked the blood bags into his little refrigerator. That taken care of, he kicked off his boots, and went to take a shower. He couldn't help but imagine different ways this could turn out - Faith at his side, his lover, his hunting partner, his Childe. Yeah, those were some enjoyable images.  
  
After toweling himself off, he found a pair of boxer shorts to slide on, and slipped into the bed beside Faith, resting his head on her shoulder. Maybe he could try to convince her it was so he could monitor her heartbeat? They rested like that, looking peaceful to any physical observer.  
  
She moved a little, half turning over in her slumber. David awoke as her shoulder was pulled from under him, dropping his head to the mattress. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to chase away the lingering sleep. She would have questions, and it might be good to be awake when he had to answer them.  
  
Faith's motion put pressure on her wounded arm, and she came awake abruptly, with a half swallowed yelp. She sat up, her other hand flying towards her temple as she swayed a little, and looked around the room. "Where...? David? How did I get here? And..." Her eyes slid down his nearly naked body and back up again. "You seem to have lost your clothing."  
  
"Welcome to my place. I brought you here after you killed the newt." He smiled at her, wondering how she'd react. Hopefully, there was some trust there.  
  
Her tongue flicked over her lips, and she shifted her weight on the bed, no longer looking as helpless. "I feel a bit woozy. And my arm..."  
  
"I bandaged you up." His words were low, and he tried to convince himself not to explain everything at once. It would probably be better if she adjusted to things slowly.  
  
Faith looked at her arm, her fingers skimming over the bandages. "Nice work. Have you done this sort of thing before?" Then, her tongue flicked out again, a hint of it visible as she licked over her teeth. In an uneasy whisper, she looked at him. "That's... why does my mouth taste like blood?"  
  
"I kept you from dying." The words were low, and he could feel his eyes flickering golden as he tried to make her understand why. "Faith, you didn't see it. There was blood all over, dripping down the fire escape. You were paler than I am, and barely breathing."  
  
Her fingers crept up, dancing over her throat, obviously seeking her pulse as her eyes grew wider and her breathing faster. "What did you do to me?"  
  
In a single bound, he was beside her, and he gently moved her seeking fingers to rest over her pulse. "You aren't dead, Faith."  
  
"Then what am I, David? I can smell the blood and the slime from that damn newt thing. I can hear your neighbors, and I know that I shouldn't be able to, not like this. What did you do to me?" Her voice was edging towards frantic as she looked into his eyes.  
  
There would be no evading the question now. "I gave you some of my blood."  
  
"I... I drank blood?" She looked shaken, as if it was something that she'd never thought that she would do. "I drank someone's blood?"  
  
"Yeah." He touched her hair, tucking the lock behind her ear. "I didn't want you to die, Faith."  
  
"What, you just wanted me?" Her voice held a shadow of her normal teasing.  
  
"When have I ever made a secret of that?" He tried to make her smile, to relax her a bit.  
  
"I can't... I can't go killing people, David." She whispered, her eyes going again to the bandages on her arm.  
  
"You'll still have the blood hunger. Maybe not as strong as a full vampire, but it will be there." He tried to keep his words soft and soothing. Carefully, he got a stein from a shelf, and rinsed it with water before emptying one of the bags of blood into it. "This should help with that."  
  
She accepted the mug from his hand, looking at it as if she expected the mug to bite her. As she looked into the red liquid, her eyes paled to amber. Her tongue flicked over her lips uneasily. "You want me to drink blood?"  
  
"It will make you feel better, I promise." He sat beside her, not quite touching. "Blood helps speed the healing process."  
  
Slowly, the mug raised, hovering at her lips for a long moment before she tilted it slightly. It looked as if she intended to barely wet her lips, but the moment that she tasted it, she began to swallow in down. She quickly drank down the mug, licking the last traces of blood from her lips. "That wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. You said it wouldn't be as strong as a full vampire. What does that make me?"  
  
"I gave you some of my blood, but you didn't die. That makes you half. Not quite a vampire, not quite mortal anymore. A half vampire becomes stronger and faster, with better senses." He looked at her, trying to read her reactions. "It also slows the aging and speeds healing."  
  
"Will the fact that I'm the Slayer change any of that?" Faith looked at him, putting the mug on the small stand that held a clock. "And what's the down side?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure. I've never tried to turn a Slayer, or seen it happen." David put his hand on the bed beside hers. "But I can tell that it is changing you. You have the teeth right now, and the eyes. You heard the neighbors."  
  
Faith stood up, tensing as her face paled with the sudden motion. "ohh... That thing must have half killed me." She sank back onto the bed, leaning back against him with a dazed expression. "How long does this half thing last?"  
  
"You'll sunburn more easily than you did before, and the lights will feel brighter. There's the blood lust. Your reflection will probably start to fade. It's not that bad, Faith."  
  
"You didn't tell me how long it lasts." Her voice was a bit stronger, and she seemed to realize that she was leaning against him now. She wiggled a little, moving so that she could look into his face. "How long?"  
  
David sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned forward, his arm sliding around her in a gentle hug. "It won't just go away, Faith. It's until someone dies."  
  
"Someone? Until who dies? David... explain this." Faith's voice spun with anger and questions and fear.  
  
"If you die, you're just dead, probably. If you have enough vampire blood in you, there's a chance that you might rise." David reached up, cupping his hand over her cheek. "If I die, you become mortal again. If you give in to the blood lust and drain someone, you become a full vampire."  
  
Faith shivered, and closed her eyes, leaning against him. "I'm becoming a vampire... the one thing I was supposed to stand against. Is there something to make this better? Other than the not dying part?"  
  
Cuddling her closer, he whispered. "You'll be able to fly."  
  
"I can fly? Really?" Faith looked at him, here eyes brightening. "I don't feel like I can fly..."  
  
Chuckling he looked into her eyes. "Well, maybe not quite yet. But as soon as your body finishes adjusting and changing, you'll be able to fly. It still takes a bit of practice, but half vampires - at least, in my lineage - can fly."  
  
"So, what do I do now?" Her question sounded as if she didn't expect an answer.  
  
Smiling, he answered her. "Right now, you rest. You lost a lot of blood, and your body is still trying to heal and change. So, I prescribe bed rest, and another unit of blood when you wake up. And maybe we can call for some carry out for you, if you're feeling better."  
  
"What, you're a doctor now?" She teased, sounding almost like her normal self just then.  
  
"Not anymore. I used to be, a long time ago. Then, I moved to California, hoping to escape the memories. That's where I bumped into Max, and he decided that I needed to... well, he made me part of his family." He smiled slightly at the still painful memories. "I was a doctor with the third Virginian Army. Two of my brothers died, one on my table as I fought to save him. Another two were crippled, and my sister was left a widow by the War between the States."  
  
"That's pretty miserable sounding." She carefully moved, resting her head on his thigh. "So, did you ever meet President Lincoln?"  
  
"Did I ever meet him? Not exactly. I was at one of his campaign speeches, and heard him talk, but that's not the same as actually meeting someone." He stroked her hair, smiling at her. Things were going much better than he'd hoped. "You should rest now."  
  
"stay here?" Her words were mumbled, as if she was already half asleep.  
  
"You won't be getting rid of me that easily, Faith. I've got you here with me, and I'm not letting go." He spoke softly, feeling oddly warm inside from her request.  
  
She made another noise, but it wasn't quite anything that he could make sense out of. David just smiled, feeling as if victory was within his grasp. He had Faith.  
  
end Darkened Faith 9: What Did You Do? 


	10. No Apologies

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 10: No Apologies  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
Faith woke again, her arm still throbbing. She wasn't certain, but it felt like that newt thing had scraped against the bones. Her stomach was twisted into knots, demanding that she eat, except that it wasn't quite sure if she wanted blood or something more solid. Her head still hurt from all the blood loss.  
  
David had changed her, turned her into a half vampire. Started trying to make her like he was. The idea was unsettling, and she wasn't quite sure what to think or do about it. He'd said it was to save her life, and she wanted to believe him. And the bandages on her arm needed changed.  
  
Carefully, she slid out of the bed, and made her way over to the first aid kit that had been left open on a small table. Faith pulled out some gauze pads, wrap, and an antibiotic ointment. Slowly, she picked up the tiny scissors and began to cut the bandage along the uninjured side of her arm, so that she could lift it away with as little pain as possible.  
  
The wound was ugly, and she could still see her bone in several places. The newt monster really had bit down to the bone. But as nasty as it looked, there was no sign yet of infection, and no sign of any other nibbling. David hadn't bit her arm, only the newt. He'd just... tried to help her.  
  
  
  
"Let me help you with that, Faith. It's awkward to change your own bandages." David's voice was low, persuasive.  
  
"Yeah, it is a bit awkward." She looked at him for a moment, then back at her arm. She felt guilty now that she'd suspected him of feeding on her injury, but the words wouldn't come out. "It's... damn."  
  
David's hands were gentle as he rubbed the ointment over the wound, and the gauze pads over the surface before wrapping as gently as he could and still have the proper support for the wound. "You're getting stronger, healing. It looks better now."  
  
"I didn't… this isn't something that I wanted." She whispered the words, staring at her now bandaged arm. She could hear David at the little refrigerator. He was pulling out blood for her to drink. The idea caused a mixed reaction – part of her was eager, anticipating the flavor, the feeling of it sliding down her throat, while another part was appalled. She was becoming a vampire.  
  
"I know."  
  
His words were soft, and she could hear him pouring something liquid into a mug, smell the blood in the air. It made her mouth water, and when she licked at her dry lips, she felt the fangs in her mouth. "David…"  
  
"This will help you heal." He handed her a mug filled with blood. "And I know that this isn't what you wanted."  
  
"But you aren't sorry." She couldn't stop the words as they slipped out, even as she took the mug of blood. Closing her eyes, Faith began to drink it, swallowing it down. It was wonderful, it was ambrosia… it was predatory.  
  
"No, I'm not." There was no hesitation in his voice, no apology. "I wanted you with me, not rotting in a grave. Granted, this isn't how I wanted this to happen. I was thinking more along the lines of some hot sex, a bit of passionate nibbling… sweeping you off your feet. Not try to change you or see you die because of some monster."  
  
"Presumptuous of you. How do you know that you could have swept me off my feet?" She smirked a little, privately admitting that his version of how he'd have preferred sounded much better than what had happened.  
  
"I can be persistent and persuasive." He reached out, caressing her cheek with his fingers. "And I wasn't about to give up."  
  
"That's… It sort of verges on being my own personal stalker." Faith looked at him, feeling so confused about this whole mess. The only thing that she was certain of was that she was glad that she wasn't dead, not soon to be rotting in a grave somewhere, as David had put it.  
  
"I knew that I wanted you, and I wasn't about to give up." David shrugged, taking the empty mug from her hand. "Now, do you want something more solid? I can call for Chinese. There's this place that delivers."  
  
"Will this… does it get easier?" Her voice sounded almost broken to her own ears. "This whole blood thing."  
  
"Easier? I guess that depends a bit on you. Your arm will heal, and I'll help you learn to adjust. In time, things won't be so new and unsettling anymore." He let his arm rest around her shoulders. "You won't be alone anymore, Faith."  
  
"Because I'll have you?" She'd intended to be defensive, maybe a bit sarcastic, but it didn't come out like that. She sounded a bit nervous, and hopeful.  
  
"Exactly. You'll have me." David leaned closer, kissing her lips gently, a soft brush of his lips over hers. "And I can try to make everything better. Neither one of us will be alone anymore."  
  
She looked at him, at those blue eyes with the flecks of amber, at his pale skin and soft lips. He was looking at her like she was wonderful, precious and special and to be cherished, and she wasn't used to that at all. The desire in his eyes, that she was used to, but not the tenderness. "Alone is overrated. And Chinese does sound good… how about Mushu pork?"  
  
"Sounds good. I'll make the call." David moved away, headed for a small phone.  
  
Faith watched, feeling oddly colder when he left her side. Maybe she'd been alone for too long. Maybe it was just that he'd been so persistent, so persuasive. Maybe it was some sort of blood thing affecting her mind. But the idea of a future with David was sounding better all the time.  
  
End Darkened Faith 10: No Apologies. 


	11. Breathing In Darkness

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 11: Breathing in Darkness  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
Faith had been quiet, mostly sleeping, occasionally waking up, having something to eat, and moving just a little. She'd had a shower, and changed into a pair of his old sweat pants and a tee shirt before going back to sleep. Honestly, he rather liked the way she looked in his bed.  
  
She was healing, her arm almost healed enough to remove the bandages entirely now. The bruises were gone, and she was starting to look healthier, not so pale and waxy. Faith would live, she would survive.  
  
But would she flourish? Would she embrace the changes that were even now happening, or would she reject them, reject herself and descend into madness? Would she let him help her? Ordinarily, he would have been confident that a new child would permit him to help them, but... Faith was very independent, and she had a stubborn streak. It was part of her charm.  
  
David leaned against the wall, watching her as she tossed in her sleep. She was restless, as if she had too much energy, despite the fact that she was still healing. He'd almost lost her, and she was already...  
  
When had Faith become more important than revenge? More important than gaining power and control of territory? He wasn't quite certain, and it unsettled him. He'd imagined her with him as he took revenge, with him as he controlled territory. But this... this was something different. It wasn't about gaining a useful childe to help with his plans anymore. Now, he just wanted to have her.  
  
Moving closer, he traced her eyebrow, studying her face. "What have you done to me, Faith?"  
  
She moved in her sleep, turning towards him as a sleepy noise emerged from her lips, showing a hint of pale teeth. She looked wonderful.  
  
No sooner had he sat beside her on the bed, intent on watching her, but she opened her eyes. Blinking, she brushed her hair away from her face. "David... what time is it?"  
  
"Just a little before sunset. Why?"  
  
"I want to go patrol. I need to go patrol." She sat up, rolling her shoulders slightly, as if stiff from sleep.  
  
David smiled, wondering if it was really patrol that she wanted, or hunting. "Faith, much as you hate taking orders, I'm going to pull just a little rank on you. I forbid you from going out to patrol in just one of my tee shirts and your underwear."  
  
"You forbid...?" Faith looked as if she was about to be very angry, and then stopped. "in my underwear? ummm. I suppose that's fair enough. I think I'll have a shower first. And more clothing, maybe a few weapons."  
  
David just chuckled as Faith stood up and made her slow, deliberate way to the shower. He had to bite back a groan when he heard the shirt hit the tiled floor, imagining what she would look like without it. Maybe he'd better have one of those bags of blood himself. Just to make certain that he didn't do anything that she might feel upset about.  
  
The cold blood had a flat taste, bland and emotionless. There was no life, no passion in it. But it was right here, and Faith didn't object to that. Licking the last trace from his lips, he tried to imagine what she looked like with the water cascading down over her body. He imagined her in the shower, imagined dropping his own clothing to the floor, stalking towards the shower. He imagined sliding open the door, and reaching in to touch her warm body, to hold her in his arms.  
  
"Anybody home in there?" Faith tapped his temple lightly. "I've only been trying to talk to you for a minute now."  
  
David blinked, pushing the vivid fantasy downwards. Faith was standing there, dressed, with a single droplet of water sliding from a lock of hair down her cheek. "Sorry, I was distracted."  
  
"Must have been quite the distraction to have you not notice a Slayer right on top of you." Faith's voice was teasing, but her eyes held worry.  
  
"I think I would have noticed if you were right on top of me, Faith." He couldn't help it, her words brought so much of his fantasy roaring back. Then he stopped, considering the rest of what she'd said. "You don't… you don't feel so much like a Slayer. It's like it's fading. You feel more like a vampire now."  
  
"But I'm NOT a vampire!" Faith's denial was more emotional than logical, and she wrapped her arms around herself, eyes closing. "I'm not. I'm not."  
  
He moved, pulling her close to him, wrapping his arms around her in as soothing a manner as he could. "Faith… you're still you. You're Faith, and you always will be. Always. You can deal with this. I'll help you, if you let me."  
  
She leaned against him, her whole body shaking. "But what do I do? I'm… I've been the Slayer. It's all that I've got… and now I don't have that anymore. Who is Faith if she's not the Slayer? Who am I?"  
  
"You're mine. My… I don't know. Maybe my future. Hopefully my lover. You could be the world to me, Faith. And I could be… almost anything that you want." He whispered, running his hands over her back.  
  
"Somehow, I'm not so sure of that." She sniffled a little, her arms moving to cling to him. "You'll help me with this?"  
  
"Of course. I just wasn't certain that you'd let me." He kissed the top of her head, not wanting to let her go yet, not willing to loosen her grip. "You'd have to kill me to get rid of me, and I don't think that's what you want."  
  
"No. What I want is for everything to make sense again. I want to make the emotional roller coaster stop. Look at me, I'm crying. I never cry." She wiped at the tears that were trickling over her cheeks.  
  
"You've been through a lot lately." He kissed her lips softly, not wanting to push her too hard. Faith's emotions were all tangled and pulled tight, if he pushed too hard, anything could happen. "Do you still want to go on patrol? We can finish up with some of that ceremonial cider."  
  
"I keep telling you, at that place, there's no ceremony." It was weak, but Faith had a little smile now. "Lets go out on patrol. I want to kick something's ass."  
  
David smiled as they walked out into the night. As long as he could keep her from breaking down, she'd be alright. As long as he could help her learn who she was without being the Slayer, she would adjust.  
  
Faith took a deep breath of the night air, the action causing her chest to move distractingly. "Everything's so much sharper now… This should be interesting. I bet I can take things down twice as fast."  
  
"How do you feel?" He had one hand behind her shoulders, his thumb rubbing along the shoulder blade.  
  
"Better. It's sort of like… like coming home sounds in all the books. Like I belong. But… where do I belong now?" Her voice was soft as she looked up at the sky, her eyes following the curve of the crescent moon.  
  
"To the night. To the shadows on the edges of the city. We don't belong to the day, and we aren't… we don't have to be purely evil. We can belong to the shadows between."   
  
"Do people ever get lost in the shadows?" Her question was soft, and she looked down from the stars to the street, swathed in shadows while the inert streetlamps hung darkly over them.  
  
"All the time. That's why family is so important. How can you be lost if you aren't alone?" The words slipped out in reassurance, but David wasn't quite certain if he was trying to reassure Faith or himself.  
  
End Breathing In Darkness. 


	12. On Top of the World

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 12: On Top of the World  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
Faith wondered if David meant it. If he meant those words of reassurance or if he was just trying to get a little Faith. If he really wanted to be there for her, for the long term. She wasn't certain if she wanted to try to sort out if she wanted him to stay.  
  
After all, David had already slipped past her defenses. He wasn't just some monster to her, despite the fact that he'd killed people. She knew that he'd killed people, would probably kill people again. They probably hadn't all been scum like that child molester either. It bothered her, and it bothered her that it didn't bother her more, if that made any sense at all.  
  
But what he offered was appealing. Not just a handsome and sexy lover, not just a patrol partner, but... Companionship. An end to the loneliness that she'd been feeling. Someone to be with her through the night, no matter how long or how dark it got.  
  
She could feel the night around her, as if a thousand tiny fingers were caressing her skin. Faith could feel his presence, warm comfort beside her that had nothing to do with temperature. And she could see everything so clearly, far better than she could just last week. "It's so different..."  
  
"Then you should probably start carefully with your patrol. If your sense have changed, have your reflexes?" David's voice was like velvet in the darkness, soothing and seductive all at once.  
  
"Is there supposed to be a warning in that? I feel great!" Faith looked at him, noticing the way the moonlight gleamed on his hair. "I don't need coddled."  
  
"Faith..." He practically purred the words, his fingertips brushing over her cheek. "You're changing. It's a rush, and everyone feels invincible at first. But you know better. It's the same feeling that even the most pitiful minion wakes up with - I'm strong, I'm powerful, I can do anything... next thing that happens, they're dust. I want better than that for you, I don't want you to loose yourself in the rush."  
  
"David, I am what happens to most brand new minions who are convinced that they're invincible." Faith smiled, wondering just what had him so worried.  
  
His hand dropped down, brushing over her arm. "But there are other things out there. I'm just asking you to start with something small and get a feel for the way things work before you go after another giant killer newt."  
  
Faith sighed, admitting to herself that it seemed reasonable. What she actually said was different. "We probably won't run into anything big anyhow."  
  
"Then you haven't lost anything." David smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. "And after we get rid of a few minions, then we have cider, go back to my place, and I see if I can seduce you."  
  
"I'm still trying to figure out why you're so cheerful about the idea of helping me kill minions." Faith shook her head, finally asking the question that had been nagging at her since she'd first met him on patrol.  
  
"But Faith, they aren't my minions. They aren't the minions of my family. Actually, we were never that big on minions anyhow. They aren't my allies' minions… I don't actually have any vampire allies in this city. They hold no advantage to me in any way, I owe them nothing." David's words seemed so calm, so casual. "Vampires have a territorial nature. We want space that we can call ours, a place that nobody who isn't family will be hunting. It means that rivalry can get pretty intense and ruthless."  
  
"What about my soul? If I become a vampire, all the way a vampire, what happens to my soul?" She looked at him, finally voicing one of her fears.  
  
David shrugged. "What exactly is a soul? Where is it when you're alive, and how does it stay there? If you can tell me that, maybe we can try to guess what happens if you die. Philosophers have been debating that question for centuries… probably closer to say thousands of years. A couple centuries back, there would be people wondering if you even had a soul to loose, simply because you are a woman."  
  
Faith shivered, wondering if the whole thing could so easily be put aside as a matter of philosophical debate. It was even more disturbing because she knew that he was right about the ancient ideas that women were inferior and lacking in souls entirely. "That idea is full of shit. I've got as much soul as some guy. Wherever a soul rests, it's not in the cock."  
  
He almost seemed to choke at that. "Faith… don't… have mercy on a guy."  
  
"What, you disagree?" She smirked at him, amused by his reaction.  
  
"I didn't say that." He glanced out over the street. "It's just that I normally don't consider the question of souls too much, and certainly not in connection to how a person's put together. I never thought that made a difference towards a soul."  
  
"Well, that's one thing we won't have to worry about." Faith grinned. She took a few steps down the street and paused. She could feel the prickle of vampires, but they didn't feel like David. These felt cold and unwelcome, like putting your foot on the puddle left by a melting ice cube. Sensing vampires had never felt quite like that before. "I feel… minions?"  
  
Faith could feel her body tensing as the minions approached. There were three of them, none very old or particularly powerful. The awareness bothered her, but it didn't set her on edge quite the way it had always done before. It could only be a sign that David had been right, she wasn't the Slayer anymore. She held her stake, knowing that now was not the time to chase the question of who she was if not a Slayer.  
  
"Hey! I know who he is." The minion was so weak that he couldn't change his yellow eyes to look human. "He's that beach guy, the one who was insulting our master!"  
  
"He doesn't look so tough." This minion had a shaved head and a football jersey, and he crackled his knuckles in a clear threat. "Why don't we just get rid of him?"  
  
Faith glanced over at David, noticing the way he seemed unworried. "Are you reminded of those hyenas in the Lion King? I'm telling you, bad guys these days…"  
  
David smiled at her, his eyes warm and laughing. "The hyenas? Shinzi was a much better leader than the one they follow."  
  
Blinking, she looked over at him, surprised that he'd actually seen the movie. "Good point. And Ed was funny."  
  
Apparently insulted by the fact that they weren't cowering, the first minion lunged towards them, growling. David easily avoided his attack, and sent him crashing into a wall with one booted foot. He shook his head, and made a faint tsk'ing noise.  
  
Faith smirked, her amusement fading as the jersey wearing minion lunged towards her, having pulled a knife from somewhere. It looked like she was getting a chance to test those new abilities of hers… And the verdict was that she wasn't quite as invincible as she'd felt just minutes earlier. She was still stronger and faster than the minion, but she'd already been as a Slayer. Her speed might have been a bit more, but not enough to throw off her style. The strength was likewise pretty close to before. And the minion fell in dust to the ground before she'd managed to do more than feel out a rough estimate.  
  
Looking up, she realized that there was nobody else there besides David. No third minion, no onlookers, just the two of them. "So… I guess I'm not super Faith. Not more than I was earlier anyhow."  
  
"Maybe a bit more." He took her hand, and suddenly he was moving upwards, into the air.   
  
And Faith was rising up with him. It didn't feel like he was carrying her upwards by her arm, he just had a light grip on her fingers, her elbow was even slightly bent. But when he stopped, they were over the tops of all of the warehouses, over the nearby apartment buildings.  
  
She looked around, feeling partly comfortable and partly awed and unsettled all at once. "You're… we're flying? I can fly?"  
  
"I told you you'd be able to." He leaned in, his lips brushing over hers softly as his hand moved from holding her fingers to resting on the outside of her arm.  
  
Faith had a moment of panic at the realization that he wasn't holding her up, nobody was holding her up. She bobbled a bit on the air currents, feeling the wind tug at her hair, feeling it press against her shoulders. "I'm… I'm really flying."  
  
"It's great, isn't it?" He was smiling at her, hanging there in the moonlight like some sort of fallen angel.  
  
Leaning forward, Faith kissed him, her tongue flicking at his lips, teasing over his teeth. She could taste blood in his mouth, and it didn't even slow the kiss. Slowly, she explored his mouth, learning the feel of him, the taste of him as her hands pulled her close to him, or perhaps he was pulled to her. "Wow."  
  
"We have freedom, Faith. Freedom from time, from gravity, from the boring rules of mortal society." His words barely carried in the face of the wind, but that somehow made them feel more seductive, more appealing.  
  
"And I have you." She kissed him again, wondering if this amazing light feeling was from kissing David or from flying. Wondering if she cared. "Should we go catch some of that cider now?"  
  
end Darkened Faith 12: On Top of the World. 


	13. Building on What's There

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 13: Buildind on What's There  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
Faith smiled as the air flowed past her. She could feel herself tossed around, like a leaf on the surface of a stream, and she just let herself move. She was really in the air, in no danger of falling. She whispered "up, up and away..."  
  
"Having fun playing Superman?" David's voice was full of amusement.  
  
"Do I look like Superman?" Faith smirked at him, one hand running along her hip.  
  
With a snort, he shook his head. "No. Just the dark hair, otherwise you look a lot better."  
  
Faith stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm probably going to catch wicked sunburns and strange ghost like reflections. Let me enjoy this for a little bit."  
  
"You're overlooking another advantage to this, Faith." David's voice just seemed to curl around her, and it seemed to warm her from the inside.  
  
"What advantage?"  
  
This time, his arms wrapped around her, sliding over her back, his hand touching the bare flesh of her back as it slid under her shirt. "You won't be alone anymore. You'll be with me."  
  
"ohhh..." The sound slipped out before she could contain it. His touch felt so nice, somehow soothing and comforting and arousing all at once. "I can feel you now... inside."  
  
"It's the blood that I gave you. Your blood is my blood." He slowly pulled her closer, until their bodies were touching. "My blood is your blood. Blood calls to blood, Faith. Can you feel it?"  
  
She ran her hands down his chest, savoring the muscles, even if there was a thin layer of cotton between her hands and his skin. She pressed a bit closer, feeling his erection against her hip. "I feel you, David. But... we're sort of... well, I don't know if that's possible up here, but I'm definitely not ready to try it."  
  
David chuckled, and leaned in, his lips brushing over her neck, nipping lightly over her pulse. "Maybe we can find out later?"  
  
Faith sighed, leaning against him, her hand sliding up to tangle in his hair. His teasing nibbles felt so good... And they were definitely intended to be seductive. "Didn't you say something about cider earlier?"  
  
"Cider?" He blinked, as if her words didn't quite make sense. "You're thinking about cider?"  
  
"Well, someone's got to change the subject before we end up half naked and so distracted that we fall out of the sky." Faith sighed, leaning her head against his chest, wondering what his skin would taste like, imagining running her tongue over his collar bone, nibbling up his neck. "After cider, maybe we can find somewhere a bit less... exposed. Maybe a bed."  
  
"I'm not going to let you fall, Faith. It's taken too long and so much to get you here with me." He kissed her forehead, and sighed. "So, we land, have some cider, and then..."  
  
"And then we go back to your place and try a few things that require a lot less clothing." Faith smiled at him, breathing in his scent, wondering if arousal and frustration had a smell, if she'd know them if she smelled them.  
  
It wasn't much later that they were walking through the doors of the coffee house, looking at the slate up on the walls, with items and prices written in chalk. There were a few people, mostly clustered around a couple tables, and busily discussing something involving the color red, make up, and 'cultural significance and connotations'. Faith figured they had to be college students. She could hear them far more clearly than she was used to, and her eyes drifted towards their throats, to the veins in their wrists as they gestured and debated.  
  
"I still say that it looks like ceremonial invocation." Faith smiled at him, looping her arm though his as she determinedly looked away from the college students and towards the counter. Don't look at them, don't think about their blood, don't wonder how they taste...  
  
David just laughed, and pulled out his wallet. "And I still say that there's no ceremony going on here."  
  
Neither of them noticed the way that an older man reading a magazine twitched at their exchange, looking at the two of them through shimmering glass spectacles as he adjusted a very battered hat on his head.  
  
A cheerful waitress made her way to the old man, handing him a cup of coffee. "Here's a refill, Dr. Jones."  
  
Faith leaned over to David, and whispered "Can we get a seat in the back? Away from most of the people?"  
  
"Absolutely. Then I can flirt more easily with you. We won't embarrass the waitresses." He smiled at her, his fingers caressing the back of her hand. Looking at the clerk, his smile faded a bit. "Two hot ciders."  
  
Slowly, they moved to the back with their cider. Even if there wasn't any sort of ceremony going on here, there was clearly something between them, and they both knew it, could feel it. Faith inhaled the steam from the cider, deciding not to try to drink it just yet.  
  
Looking at David, she offered a small smile. "This... between us. It's been building for a while, hasn't it?"  
  
"From the first moment that I saw you. I wanted you then, and the rest... It's been a persistent effort." David smiled. "I didn't want you to slip away from me, Faith."  
  
"Even when you just said hi over coffee?" Faith shook her head. "A lot more patience than I'm used to."  
  
"Patience can pay off. You're here with me now, aren't you?" He reached over, his hand cupping her cheek. "And I'm not letting you go."  
  
Faith shivered, not certain if it was from delight that he wanted that level of commitment, pure attraction to him, or from the chance that desire would become obsession. "Lucky me?"  
  
"I hope that's the way you see it. Instead of being David the stalker, I want to be David the lover, partner... friend." His eyes were focused on her, and there was so much intensity that she couldn't look away. "Let me be your everything."  
  
Faith didn't have words to answer such a question. Instead, she leaned over, kissing him. The table between them prevented it from being too deep, but it had no trouble conveying her interest, her desire, and her acceptance of him in her life. "If I'm yours, then you're mine."  
  
"Sounds fair enough to me." He kissed her again, smiling as if he'd just won. "This has been building between us. We couldn't be free of each other now even if we tried. Even if you walked out that door and left the state, left the country. I'd always be in you, in your mind, your blood. Just like you'll always be in mine."  
  
"So, I guess we just build on what we've got." Faith smiled, and tried a little sip of her cider. "Ohh, still very hot."  
  
David smiled, and murmured "Now who's got a burned mouth?"  
  
"Well, when we get back to your place, you can kiss it all better." Faith offered, leaning back in her seat.  
  
"That sounds very good." David grinned, and sipped at his own hot cider.  
  
They didn't discuss anything else that had been on David's list of desires. Nothing of revenge against those who'd killed his family. The pain of those lost was not brought up. Tonight was about beginnings, not endings, and they would have plenty of time in the future.  
  
end Darkened Faith 13: Building on What's There 


	14. I've Got the Girl

author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg 13  
  
pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)  
  
Darkened Faith 14: I've Got the Girl  
  
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.  
  
distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.  
  
note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.  
  
David smiled as he held Faith in his arms. They'd gone out for one of her patrols, and he'd managed to get her into the air for her first flight. She'd been gorgeous, hanging there with her hair drifting around her, the wind making her cheeks pink and the excitement making her eyes sparkle. And they'd kissed, not a brush of lips over cheek or lips, but the sort of passionate kisses that could make you breathless and weak kneed.  
  
He still wasn't quite certain how he'd managed to wait until they'd made it back to his apartment.  
  
He had Faith. She was his now, his lover, his childe - or close enough - and his... companion. It was almost odd not to be alone anymore, but he liked it. He liked having someone else in his space, someone that he didn't think would stab him in the back and laugh as he crumpled to the floor. And it was better that the someone was Faith. He was going soft... and couldn't quite manage to regret it.  
  
"David?" Faith stirred a bit, the sheet sliding from her shoulder, revealing the tattoo that encircled her arm.  
  
He didn't even realize that he was smiling as he traced a lock of her hair, as his fingers moved on to trace the lines of her tattoo. "I'm still here, Faith."  
  
She smiled at him, her eyes still softened by tiredness and pleasure. "Good. I kind of like having you around."  
  
Her words spoke of independence, of casual comfort, but her eyes told a different story. Her eyes and the blood that hummed between them said that she'd come to care deeply for him, but she was afraid to admit those feelings. She was afraid that caring would make her vulnerable. Did she realize how hard it was to hide your feelings when a bond of blood hummed and flowed between them? If not, then she would learn soon enough. "I'm not going anywhere, Faith. I've finally got you right where I want you - here, with me, without all those barriers and distances between us. Just you, me, and the naked truth."  
  
"Is that what you call it, then?" Her eyes danced with humor.  
  
Laughing, David fell back to the bed, his arm draped over her shoulders. "Not quite what I meant, Faith. I meant, it's just you and me, no more artificial barriers. No more denials that this is just conflict, or that I'm someone capable of guarding your back, no more pretenses that this is just a game."  
  
Sitting upright, Faith put one hand on either side of his head, grinning at him. "So, what is this? I mean, beyond the attraction, beyond the fact that we fight well together, beyond the fact that you're... that you've changed me? What happens between us?"  
  
"Well, if you keep distracting me like that..." David let his eyes wander over her naked chest, smiling at her. "I knew that we'd fight well together, I knew that I found you attractive. As for what happens next... I've never been good at making relationships follow a plan. I care for you, you care for me. The feelings were there, and strong enough to be frustrating and confusing and undeniable before I changed you, before I couldn't let you die. You're mine, and I'm yours. Beyond that... Hell if I know."  
  
"So, does that mean you're... my boyfriend?" Faith looked almost shy as she traced her finger over his eyebrow and down his cheekbone. "Or do powerful vamps not use the term?"  
  
David chuckled, tracing over her collarbone. "We can use any term that you want. I've got you here, in my life, in my arms… the name doesn't matter. Not as long as you know that I won't abandon you, won't leave you, won't let you walk away from me. You're all that I've got in the world besides myself."  
  
"Nobody ever really meant it like that. I've never been… I mean, you've got some money, but that's not important to you. You've got yourself, but… And then there's me." She sighed, looking caught between happy and scared and baffled. "You really don't have anybody but me, and you really want me to stay. I can feel it… and that is really weird seeming."  
  
"Not to me. It's comforting to have someone else, someone that I can feel, someone that's connected." He closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her, of them. "I'm not alone anymore, and I can't forget that – not even in the dead of noon."  
  
"Isn't that supposed to be the dead of night?" Faith grinned, her finger flicking at his earring.  
  
"Vampire, remember? Night is when things happen, when I go out." He leaned forward, kissing her lips, still tasting himself from when she'd bitten his shoulder earlier. "But noon… now that's a dangerous time for me. It's also the time we're most likely to be asleep – and you're going to feel that drowsiness too."  
  
"Everything's changing on me. I'm pretty sure that it's because of you." Her hand tightened on his shoulder, the force enough to make him wince.  
  
"Is that such a bad thing? Change?" He ran his hand down her arm, and tugged lightly on her wrist, not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know that he'd like her to let go. "Did I take you away from anything that wonderful?"  
  
"Well…" She let go of his shoulder, no longer gripping, but now gently massaging. Her eyes slipped away from his face, over to his shoulder, where the mark from her grip was obvious, already turning slightly purple. "I didn't have anybody, didn't have a great place, but… I'm… I was the Slayer. That meant something."  
  
"You've got me. And now… you're still Faith. But you're free to figure out who Faith is without the burden of destiny. You can still kill demons, still kill other vampires, but not alone. Not at the so-called guidance and mercy of these Watchers who seemed to have abandoned you." He brushed his lips over hers in a light kiss, and practically breathed out the words. "I'll help you figure out who Faith is."  
  
"What do you see when you look at me?" She looked at him, here eyes filled with emotions and an intense pleading.  
  
"I see someone beautiful, but not counting on that to make things happen. I see someone confident, and powerful, and determined to seize the moment before it's gone. I see someone who's had to stand on their own, and face things that nobody likes to admit happens. I see someone who's lost sight of herself, and tried to make a new life to hide everything that happened, all the pain, the confusion, the uncertainty. Someone who didn't want to count on anyone, because she's had too many people let her down." He kissed her again. "I see Faith."  
  
"I like who you see." She slid her arms around him, snuggling close. "Help me learn to see myself the way you do?"  
  
David kissed the top of her head, savoring the feel of her body next to his. "Of course I will. We've got as much time as it takes, after all. You aren't on the Slayer deadline anymore."  
  
"Sounds pretty good." She murmured, sounding half asleep already as she clung to him. "I've finally got time to find out what I want out of life."  
  
David smiled, holding Faith close to him. He had Faith. Things were looking up for him after all. And maybe things had changed for him as well as changing for Faith. Of course, if it wasn't a bad thing for her, maybe it wasn't so bad if he'd changed?  
  
End DF 14: I've Got the Girl. 


	15. Breaking Old Ties

author: Lucinda

rating: pg 13

pairing: Faith/David (from Lost Boys)

Darkened Faith 15: Breaking Old Ties

Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Lost Boys.

distribution: Twisting the Hellmouth, TNL. anyone else ask.

note: rather AU-ish for Faith. No big needed in Sunnydale Crisis, no big needed in LA crisis. Post Lost Boys the Movie.

Faith smiled at David as they walked out of the club. The last few days had been spent in adjustments - to her new condition, to her connection to David, and to being intimate with someone. Not just the sex, though there had been plenty of that, but of actually sharing herself, her hopes, her fears, her feelings... and sharing his as well. She didn't know if they'd be so open if it wasn't for the blood bond that kept them aware, but it was still there, still a connection.

Honestly, she kind of liked having someone that would be there for her. Not someone trying to help the Slayer fight, or researching monsters, but someone there for Faith.

"So, what do you want to do now?" His voice was content, almost like the purr of a sleepy cat.

"I don't know." Smiling, she teased him. "What do you want to do?"

"We could go back to my place, lock the door, and not get out of bed until Monday?" He smiled suggestively. "We could have some ceremonial cider, or look for some minions to kill."

Faith had glanced over the crowd, certain that she'd just felt something strange. Not a clear threat, but... well, she wasn't quite sure what. Had there been a demon? A magic user of some sort? Or...

A dark haired man moving towards a bus station caught her eye. He looked oddly familiar, except... the clothing didn't match her memories. "Is that... Wesley?"

"Your former Watcher?" David's hand was on her arm, reassuring, soothing.

"Yeah." Faith swallowed, wondering why her eyes felt all prickly. Seeing him had stirred up unhappy feelings, and unhappy memories. Memories of obstacle courses with Buffy, a frowning Wesley noting times and scores. Quizzes on demons and how to kill them, again competing. And never measuring up. He'd never made sure that she was safe, never tended her wounds after patrol, never tried to get her out of that horrible motel room...

David leaned forward, kissing her cheek. "Teeth, Faith. You're growling with sharp teeth. If you want to kill him, there are too many witnesses."

For a moment, Faith considered the idea. Did she want to kill Wesley? It might feel good to get him, to make him pay for all the unhappiness and jealousy that he'd caused, fed, helped to grow. But on the down side...

"No. He's not worth it. He didn't... I didn't matter enough for him to go out of his way, I won't let him become important to me now." Faith tried to convince herself that her eyes didn't feel hot from tears, and that her throat wasn't tight. "I won't give him that much power over my future."

David's arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to him. "shh... It's okay, Faith."

Faith let him hold her as they made their way down the street, looking just like a normal couple, arms around each other, leaning together for comfort or warmth. It was nice to have someone to lean on...

Blinking, she realized that they were sitting at a table, the thick scents of coffee and cider heavy in the air, mingling with cigarette smoke. Her hands reached out, pulling a mug of cider towards her.

"Thanks." The word was a soft whisper, and Faith frowned as she tried to remember clearly how they'd ended up here.

"You're my girl now, Faith. I'm here for you." David's smile lacked its usual smirky edge, and his eyes were filled with worry, as was the link humming between them. "I'll always be here for you."

Faith managed a weak smile, and let her eyes rest on the cider. "Thanks."

"Sometimes, the past hurts." David's voice was low, soft. "Unfortunately, the only way for it to stop is time, and that takes a while."

Faith managed a giggle, glancing at him as she held the cup, the steaming vapors curling around her. "That's why it's called time, blondie."

David just nodded, and glanced around the coffee shop. "It's pretty quiet tonight. Just a couple college kids over there, looks like there must be a big test this week."

Faith looked around the store, her eyes skimming over the empty tables. "And the brooding woman over there that probably had a bad break up. Look at the way she's crushing away the faintest hint of any lump?"

The door opened, and they both tensed, wondering if it could be some other unwelcome face from the past. But it was just the old figure of Dr. Jones, heading for a back table with a stack of papers.

"A bit tense, aren't we?" Faith asked, trying to smile and pass it off as a joke.

"Maybe a little." David reached out, brushing the back of her hand with his fingers. "But we can move on, you don't have to deal with him right now."

"That might be a bit hard in LA." Faith muttered, sipping carefully at the cider.

"Who says we have to stay in LA? We can leave." David grinned at her, sipping at his cider with twinkling eyes.

"Where would we go?" Faith was already turning the idea over in her mind. Leave this place, where she didn't have friends, or family to make things enjoyable? She could still try to figure out who she was elsewhere, it wasn't as if this place had any fond memories.

"Anywhere. We could face my past in Santa Carla. Or take a look at the great white north up in Canada, or go south to find out how spicy Cajun really is." He leaned back against the bench, sipping at the cider. "We don't have to plot out everything. If you want, we can just pack what we want to keep, pick a road, and start driving. Just say the word."

Faith considered the idea as she sipped at her cider. Starting over somewhere else, seeing places without a deformed master vampire after her... Travel appealed to her in a way that LA no longer did. "How about north?"

"North works for me." David smiled.

And Faith felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. They could travel, see different places, and just... be. And she could still kick demon ass and slay vampires. But this time, she wouldn't have someone lurking, waiting for her to repeat old mistakes. Yeah, life was going to be good again.

End Darkened Faith 15: Breaking Old Ties

End Darkened Faith.


End file.
